Into the Dark
by a.vause1980
Summary: When Harley shows up bloody and beaten again Ivy tells her enough is enough she has to leave Joker. Before Ivy can tell Harley how much she loves her Joker shows up and is not happy.


A pounding on my front door at this hour can only be one person. I walk over and open the door as Harley stormed into the apartment with her lip bleeding, and blue and pink eyeshadow streaked down her cheeks. She paces across the floor partly angry but also confused and hurt. This was not the first time this had happened. Harley has showed up here several times in the same state. She had the same story every time as well, he was angry and I pushed him yada yada yada. He is sorry and promised he won't do it again. I try to explain to her that he is never going to change. He will continue to hurt her and then apologize.

"You don't get it, Pammy. He's my puddin'," she paused shrugging her shoulders, "I love him."

Harley breaks down crying, falling onto the couch with her head in her hands as tears fell to the floor and soaked into the carpet. I walk over and sit beside her, putting my arm around her and pulling her closer, letting her cry. Harley smells of cotton candy and gunpowder. Normally not two scents that would go together, but on Harley, it's amazing. Harley's body molds into mine like we were made for each other. If only she knew how I felt about her if, only I could tell her! I've tried so many times but the words never come out and she deserves better than Joker. He doesn't know what she needs, all he does is treat her badly and make her feel like it's her fault.

"Harley I-" I stutter, "I just want…" Damn it, speak, Pam! Just tell her! "I want you to…" Nothing. I can't say anything.

"What, Red?"

Harley looks up at me her sapphire blue eyes wrapped in tears, nose reddened from sniffling and wiping it on her sleeve and her cheeks are pink from anger.

"Nothing, Harls. Don't worry about it. Come're."

I lean back, taking Harley with me and letting her head rest on my chest. I can feel her breath on my neck, sending shivers through my body. Her arm wraps around my waist and she presses in closer. I put both arms around her and hold her tight until the sobs finally start to subside. We sit there for a while and Harley's body feels so good pressed against mine. She smells of sweet lilacs. I squeeze a little tighter and she reciprocates; her forehead pushing against my jaw trying to fit in the crook of my neck. I give her a small kiss on her forehead, leaving a small red lipstick print on the pale skin. I smile at the print leaving it there like a brand, claiming her as mine.

No sooner did Harley finally relax, we heard pounding on the apartment door. Harley jumped up, both of us knowing exactly who it was. She looked at me with a scared expression. Joker doesn't like when she comes over here sometimes. I think he knows how I feel about Harley and is jealous that she is always running to me for comfort. Harley began to walk to the front door and then I remembered the lipstick on her forehead. She was already too far away and I thought this was not going to go over well.

I caught up with Harley but it was too late. She already had the door halfway open. Joker slammed his fist against the wood, shoving it open and narrowly missing Harvey's head. She stumbled backwards, hitting the wall hard. I ran to her and helped her back on her feet.

"Hey Harls. You okay?"

She pushed passed me, "Yeah, I'm fine," and rushed over to Joker. "Puddin', I'm sorry!"

"Harley, really? You came here. Here, of all places!"

I stood there watching her try to hug this monster that just yells and hits her. It's taking all that's in me to not rush over and beat the ever-loving shit out of him. Joker shoves her off, knocking Harley to the floor.

"Hey, that's enough!" I yell walking over, "Cut it out!" I shove Joker, then turn around to help Harley up.

"What, you think you're going to be her knight in shining armor, Isley? I know you love her, but what do you think is going to happen? She will magically fall in love with you? Ain't gonna happen."

"Red, don't worry, okay? Please don't get involved."

I look at Harley who is staring at me with a puzzled look and the next thing I know I blinked my eyes open. I'm on the ground, there is a ringing in my ears and warm liquid dripping down my face. I try to push myself up, but I can't. The best I can do is turn on my side. I can faintly hear Harley yelling and through my blurry vision, I see her pushing Joker and slapping him.

The chains from his jacket muffle most of the yelling, but Joker is pointing at me and screaming something but I can't make it out. My vision starts to clear and I can see how much he towers over Harley; both of their faces are almost bright red from screaming.

He punches Harley and she crumples into a pile on the floor. I hear the heavy footsteps come towards me. Suddenly Joker's boot hits me in the stomach, knocking all of the wind out of me. I can barely catch my breath before another kick lands hard, fracturing or breaking one or more ribs; I couldn't really tell. I cough, tasting copper then spitting the warm liquid out, soaking the carpet in blood. Joker stomps down on my ribs again and my vision goes white with pain. I hold my mid-section, hoping my arms will help shield the kicks but Joker has moved on. He picks me up by the collar of my shirt and I'm dangling like a rag doll.

"She's mine. You hear that, _Red?_ " he mocked.

Joker takes a step forward, then slams me down on the coffee table, breaking it into several pieces. I lie there for a minute and when I come to, he is kneeling over me; smiling and laughing. His hand grabs my shirt, twisting it around his hand before lifting me up off the ground. I see him pull his arm back, curling it into a fist before he brings it down square on my jaw. It feels like my teeth are vibrating, as more liquid and more copper reach my taste buds. He hits me a few more times, breaking my nose. A burning sensation radiated from the break, causing my eyes to water. It felt like every bone in my face was broken. My vision gets blurry again, partly from the punches and partly from blood getting in my eyes.

My body goes limp and it's getting hard to stay awake. I drop back down to the floor as Harley runs over, knocking Joker down and starts to hit him. I lay there dazed and aching, my eyes close and blackout for a few minutes. When I come to, Harley is leaning over me, tucking my hair behind my ears. Her eyes dart to all the cuts and bruises on my face. She lifts the side of my tee shirt and her eyes widen when she sees Joker's boot print on my skin. Her delicate finger trace the print, causing me to wince and recoil from her touch, so she pulls her hand away.

"Red! Talk to me. Are you okay?"

I can hardly get the words out, but I can't stand to see Harley looking worried. "Yeah, Peanut. I'm okay."

Harley smiled at me, holding my hand. She uses her sleeve to wipe some of the blood off that's dripping from my chin. Joker came up behind Harley, quickly picking her up and threw her across the room, against the wall. She fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, coughing and trying to catch her breath. Joker kicked me a few more times but I couldn't shield them. Every muscle hurt.

"Peanut! You call my girl Peanut?" he is yelling in my face. "You really do love her, don't you? DON'T YOU?!"

He screams, bringing his fist down and connecting it with the bridge of my nose again. Harley is watching from the corner, still struggling to breathe.

"Huh!? Answer me!"

"Yeah, Bozo, I love her." I look over at Harley and our eyes meet my eyes wander to the faded but still visible lipstick print on her forehead, "I love her more then you ever could!"

I knew saying it would only make him more angry, but it didn't matter. His hands wrapped around my throat, choking me. I drop in and out of consciousness with what little air I can; every intake and exhale burning my throat.

"She is n-e-v-e-r going to love you! You understand that? She is mine. Harley will never leave me for you!"

He punches me again and I blackout for a second, but Joker shakes me awake.

"Hey! I want you to watch this. I want you to see your precious _Peanut_."

Joker walks over to the still-dazed Harley and lifts her up, slamming her against the wall again.

"Hiya, Harley. Did you know how much your precious Pammy loves you? She thinks she loves you more than me. I told her you would never leave me."

Harley came to. "Right, Puddin'. I wouldn't leave ya."

I watch Harley try to calm Joker down. "I love ya, Puddin'. I'm not going anywhere." Her hands were on his cheeks, holding his gaze.

"The fuck you aren't. You hear that, Isley?!" he turns around. "She loves me, not you."

Harley looks over Joker's shoulder at me, mouthing ' _I'm sorry'._ Joker saw the gesture and punched Harley in stomach. She doubled over grunting, trying to catch her breath but Joker lifted her back up by the throat and punched her in the face.

I could see a small trickle of blood come from her nose as Joker repeated his actions several more times; laughing in between punches and licking the blood from his knuckles. When he finished, he threw Harley to the floor and sat down on the couch. Joker pulled his silver cigarettes case and lit one, inhaling. I could see the blood dripping from his hands. He tilted his head, blowing the smoke in the air, looking down at Harley. She started to move, still dazed and out of it. I reached out for her but then thought better, not wanting to anger him further.

Joker finished his cigarette and dropped it on the carpet, crushing it with his boot and leaning forward his elbows on his knees, looking down at us.

"Do you believe now, Isley? Are you convinced enough that Harley loves me?"

Joker stood up, taking a few steps so he was standing in expanse between us.

"Or, does Harley need to show you?"

I looked up at Joker's big, stupid grin not really understanding what he meant until I saw his hand move to his belt buckle. He undid the buckle and knelt down between Harley's legs. I try to scream, but no sound comes out. I can't move, I can't get to Harley. She is so far away. Joker pushes up Harley's plaid skirt and looks at me, giving me a wink. He takes out a knife, cutting the fabric of Harvey's underwear and ripping it off, throwing it in my direction.

"Harley..." it comes out as a whisper. "Harley, please wake up." my throat was on fire.

She starts to come around and once she realizes what was happening, she started to fight; pushing, slapping and trying to kick him. He pins her hands above her head and finished unzipping his pants.

"Stop, Mistah J!" Harley struggled to get her hands free. "No! Please, don't!"

Harley struggled underneath Joker, but she couldn't free herself. He leaned down, kissing Harley's neck. His free hand slid up her shirt to roughly grab her breast.

"Oh, Isley. You don't know what ya missing with this one."

My eyes well with tears, "Please, stop! Don't do this. She loves you, okay, Joker? I get it!" forcing the sound to come out.

Harley looked at me, tears streaming from her eyes. "Please, make him stop."

I struggled to move but the broken ribs wouldn't let me. I cried, knowing she was right there and I couldn't stop what was happening. I couldn't help her.

"Let's show her, Harley. Let's show her how much you love me." He kisses her as she tries to move her head out of the way, but there is no room.

Joker licked up Harley's neck than lifted himself up just enough so he could pull his pants down, revealing his hard, pale cock. He settled over Harley and thrusted inside her hard, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. Joker fucked in harder with every thrust, grunting and smiling a vicious smile.

"Pam, please! Help me!" Harley screamed out, not taking her eyes off mine.

I turned on my side, trying to crawl over to her. I didn't know what I would do once I got there, but that didn't matter. I needed to get to Harley.

Joker stopped, he pulled out, letting go of Harley's hands. She tried to push him away again, punching and slapping him. Joker just laughed at her attempts. I knew if I was going to help her that this would be my only shot. I crawled as fast as I could as Harley turned her body, both arms outstretched towards me.

"Pam, help me." tears rolled down Harley's cheeks.

"Harley!" I cried. I didn't know what else to say, there was nothing to say. I couldn't help her, I couldn't do anything.

Joker kept her under control, but was able to flip Harley over; pinning her hands behind her back. He pulled his belt off, wrapping it around Harley's forearms and pulled tight, tying it crudely. Joker lifted Harley up onto her knees, her face was red from crying now also from being pressed into the carpet.

Joker brought his hand up and smacked it down on Harley's ass. "You like that, Harley? I know you do. Did you know that, Isley? Did you know your precious Harley likes to be spanked?"

He smacked Harley's ass a few more times. I could see the pale flesh, now red with handprints. I needed to stop this right now. I had to, for Harley. She needs me and I have to help her.

Joker held his cock, lined it up and slammed into Harley again. His hands were holding her hips, pulling her back at the same time he thrusted forward. I watched Harley's face become emotionless. She stopped crying and seemed to just be numb. His head tilted back, eyes closed. Every stroke in was harder and faster than the last. Tears fell from Harley's eyes but she didn't say anything. She didn't cry out or ask for help, she just laid there; looking right through me.

I was so close, I could almost reach out and touch her. She didn't seem fazed by my presence and her whole body moved with every thrust. Joker pulled out and stood, pulling his pants up. He unwrapped his belt from Harley's arms and tossed it on his shoulder.

"You're not even worth coming in. Enjoy my leftovers, Isley."

He walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Harley stayed in position Joker put her in until I finally made it over to her. I tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek with my thumb.

"Harley? Harley! Say something, please!"

She didn't move. I don't really know what to do. I finally am able to sit up, even though the new position comes with new pains. I have to push that all aside right now. Harley's eyes blinked a few times, new tears starting to form. She looked up at me as best as she could as she slowly sits up. The rough carpet against Harley's sensitive skin makes her wince in pain as she shifts to lean on her hip and tucking her skirt underneath her as best as she can.

"Easy, Harls." I try to help her up as much as I could.

She doesn't take her eyes off mine, both of us crying from pain.

"Are you okay?" I ask, but I already know the answer.

Harley just looks at me, then leans closer. Instinctively, I put my arms around her as she lays her head on my shoulder. She starts to sob, her whole body shaking. I hold as tight as I can, wrapping around her with my body. Every one of my muscles hurt, my ribs ache. Holding this tight makes it hard for me to breathe but it doesn't matter because Harley needs me. She needed me before but I couldn't get to her. I couldn't save her.

I felt the guilt in the pit on my stomach. I want to apologize to her and explain why I wasn't there to save her. I know that's not what she needs right now, she needs me to be strong for her so I hold her and let my tears silently fall.

"Harley, you need to stay away from him." I say quietly. "Look what he did to you. You can't go back there."

Harley cried, her sobs giving way to sniffles as she looks up at me, "I'm sorry, Pam. Look at you."

"Don't worry about me, Harley. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harley wipes her nose with her sleeve. "Nothing a bottle of Jack can't fix."

I look at Harley with a worried expression on my face. She seems a little cavalier about what just happened, but I don't want to press her on the issue. I want to make sure she is okay and she must have read the concern on my face.

"Really, Pam. I'm fine. This isn't the first time but bet your ass it's the last time."

I feel a little relief come over me, knowing that Harley is done with that asshole. She helps me up which brings a host of new aches and pains. She walks me over to the couch, letting me lean on her. When I sit down, the bruises or cuts from the table (I'm not sure which) ache when they come in contact with the cushion; a hiss leaves my lips.

"Shit, you okay, Red?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She disappears for a few minutes and comes back with an arm-full of first aid supplies, dumping them on the table next to the couch. Harley pushes the broken pieces of table out of her way as she takes a washcloth and dips it into the bowl of warm water. She starts to clean up the blood on my face.

"I can't even tell what's a cut and what is dried blood."

Harley dips the washcloth back in the water. The blood tinges the water as she rings it out and goes back to cleaning. When she wipes over a cut, I grit my teeth and Harley pulls the fabric away quickly.

"Sorry."

She goes back to cleaning but is gentler by the open wound. When she finishes with the area around the cut, she moves on. The more blood she cleans off, the more worried she looks, seeing the few cuts and the bruising. Finally, when everything is clean, she picks up some butterfly closures. She closes the cut over my left eye and then the one on the bridge of my nose. My right eye is almost swollen closed and Harley gets up and gets an ice pack from the freezer, wrapping it in a towel. She holds it up to my cheek. She lifts up one side of my tee shirt and I could tell how bad it was from the look of horror on her face.

"You have to go to the hospital, Pam."

"No, I'll be fine. You should go though, and make sure he didn't do any permanent damage."

"I'll be okay, but I need that Jack. Do you have any?"

"Yeah," I take hold of the ice pack. "Get two glasses. I could use a drink too."

Harley stands up and head towards my bedroom I can hear drawers opening and closing. I know what she is looking for.

"Bottom drawer Harls."

"Thanks Pam."

Harley comes back into view wearing my favorite pair of gray sweatpants she walks over to the kitchen cabinet. She has been in the apartment so many times, she knows where everything is anyway. She picks up two glasses and throws some ice in each of them. Harley hands me one of the glasses and some Tylenol, then puts the bottle cap in her mouth, twisting it with her teeth. I would scold her but considering everything, I thought this was the least of my worries.

"Really Harley, you had to put on my favorite pair?"

She spits the cap out and pours the amber liquid in her glass and then in mine.

"They looked the most comfy."

I scoff and then take a sip and the cut on my lip stings. It burns my throat as it goes down but the drink tastes so good. Harley sits down next to me and clinks her glass on mine. She downs the drink and pours another one.

"Harley, I'm serious. You can't go back there. You have to be done with him. He isn't going to stop until he kills you."

"I know, Red. He has come close a few times before I met you."

She takes a sip then looks into the glass, twirling it, watching the whiskey swirl around the glass; the ice making noise as it hits the sides.

"You know you can stay here, Harls. As long as you need to."

"Thanks, Pam." She takes another sip. "I might take you up on that." She refills the glass before it's empty.

The ice pack is getting heavy, I lay my arm down, still holding it.

"Hey, no, Pam. You gotta keep that on there." Harley said, downing what was left of her drink.

"I can't hold it up anymore, Harley."

Harley puts down her glass and the bottle. She takes my glass from my hand, finishing it and placing it with the others, then pats her lap, "Here, put your head down."

I lean forward, trying to shift in my seat. Harley holds my shoulders, helping me lay down; then takes the ice pack from my hand and holds it on my eye. She rakes her hands through my hair and despite every muscle hurting, and the anger I still had for Joker, I relax and close my eyes.

"So, was he right?"

"Right about what, Harls?"

"Do you love me?"

I lay there for a second or two wondering how I should answer the question. I've wanted to tell her for so long, but this is not how I wanted her to find out.

"Yeah, Harley." I say, opening my eyes to meet her ice blue ones. "I do."

The words come out with a hint of shame in them and I have to look away from her. I can't hold her gaze any longer. My mind is swirling, wondering what she is going to say, how is she going to react, can we still be friends?

"How long have you felt this way?"

The question catches me off guard and I reply, "From the second I saw you."

"Red, that was almost three years ago." she says, surprised.

"Yeah, well, I was waiting for the right time to tell you." I chuckle, but the pain in my side becomes too much.

Harley snickers, a smile tugs at her lips. She continues running her fingers through my hair. The ice pack is no longer cold and is mostly melted, but some of the pain in my side had already started to subside.

"Come on, Pammy." Harley whispered. "We need to get you cleaned up."

Harley helps me sit up as she tosses the melted ice pack on the couch. She stands up and holds her hand out to help me stand up. I take her hand, my other arm stays pinned to my side with the broken ribs. My legs almost give out when I put weight on them as Harley's hands grab my waist to hold me up.

"I got you." she says, sliding one arm around my waist and guiding the other over her shoulders.

She helps me walk to the bathroom and lowers me down to sit on the toilet. The small walk felt good, letting me stretch some of the muscles. Harley pulls back the curtain and turns the water on to fill the tub.

"Oh, Harls. I don't think I even have the strength to take a bath right now."

"I know, Red, but a nice soak will help with the soreness." Harley knelt down, looking under the sink.

"What are you looking for?"

"This." She held up a bottle of bubble bath.

Harley walked, over feeling the temperature of the water, then dumped some of the soap into the tub. She capped it and placed it on the edge of the tub. The vanilla scent of the soap filled the small room. Harley let the tub fill and then turned the water off, testing the water again. When she was satisfied, she stood up and turned to me.

"Okay, let's get you undressed."

I look up at her. "What, are you gonna undress me?"

"Well, yeah, you can't do it."

"Harls, are you serious?"

"No, by all means Pam. Go ahead, try to do it yourself."

I look at Harley with what I'm sure is a determined expression on my face I stand up but almost immediately my legs give out and I almost collapse.

"Told ya. Come on Red, up ya go."

She helps me stand up, holding the waistband of my sweatpants. She starts to pull them down as my free hand holds Harley's shoulder to steady myself. I'm a little worried about being naked in front of her after professing my love not thirty minutes ago. I watch as Harley helps lift one leg, slowly pulling the fabric from underneath it. She then repeats the same on the other side. Never once did she look at me funny or in an inappropriate way. She stood up, giving me a smile.

"Okay, this is probably going to hurt," Harley said, taking the hem of my tee shirt in her hand. "but we will do it slow."

I give her a worried look, but she smiles again to reassure me it will be okay. Harley pulls the fabric up my torso, I take my hand off her shoulder and pull it out of the sleeve. I let out a groan from bending my side and Harley stops her movements. She waits for a second until my arm is free. She pulls the now empty side of the shirt over my head and maneuvers it around my other arm, not wanting me to move anything on that side then tosses it on the floor.

"You okay, Red?"

"Yeah, as fine I as can be. Feeling a little exposed though," I look down, trying to cover myself but with only one free hand but it's not very easy.

Harley never looks away from my face. "Alright, in the tub."

I take a step closer, trying to lift one foot over the ceramic wall. Harley is behind me, her hands on my waist. Once I'm in the tub, I slowly sit, trying not to move to fast or bend too far. Harley rolls up her sleeve and puts her arm across my back as I slide down all the way under the warm water. She was right, it does feel good, despite soap stinging some of the cuts on my face. I come up and lean back against the tub as Harley sits down on the tile, grabbing a wash cloth to wash off any dried blood that she can now see in the light.

I close my eyes and now that the Tylenol has fully kicked in, my ribs don't hurt nearly as much. I'm jarred out of my relaxation by the sound of Harley's boots hitting the tile floor.

"What are you doing, Harley?"

She has both boots and socks off and is rolling up her pants. "Lean forward."

I look at her confused. "Huh?"

She stands up. "Lean forward."

I do as she says and she steps into the tub behind me, sitting on the edge. I watch as Harley picks up the shampoo bottle, squeezing a dollop into her palm. She rubs her hands together, then washes my hair. I close my eyes, feeling her fingers massage my scalp and when she finishes, Harley again helps me lay down to rinse. She cups her hand and pours water through my hair gently so the soap doesn't get in my eyes. When I sit back up, she rings the extra water from my hair, I feel her hands on my shoulders kneading the muscles with her fingers.

After a while, the water starts to cool and there are no more bubbles. Harley steps out, picking up a towel off the rack.

She extends a hand to help me up. "Come on, Red."

I reach out and stand up with much more ease, a few aches from my side but no stabbing pain. Harley takes the towel and dries me off, wrapping it around me and helping me to the bedroom. She opens dresser drawers and pulls out clothes for me to wear. Once I'm dressed, Harley pulls back the covers and I gently get into the bed. She kisses my forehead and goes to leave, I assume to go to the couch.

"Harley?"

"Yeah, Pammy?" Harley turns to look over her shoulder.

"Can you stay in here with me tonight?" I ask, nervously.

"Sure." Harley says with a smile as she walks to the other side of the bed and climbs in.

I turn over as best as I can, towards her. We look at each other for a moment and I tuck a strand of hair behind Harley's ear. My fingertips ghost over her skin and my hand finally rests on her neck. She smiles, then leans forward, capturing my lips. I'm shocked at first, but then slowly sink into the kiss. Harley's lips slide against mine from the cherry lipgloss and my hand wraps around the back of her neck; holding her in place. She lays her palm on my cheek. We both pull back but even in the darkness of the room, her crystal blue eyes still shine.

"Thanks for loving me."

The words fall from her lips, landing on mine. We lay there with our foreheads touching; breathing in the shared air between us. Slowly succumbing to sleep and neither of us letting go of the other.


End file.
